 Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan gave Iran centrifuges, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed admitted yesterday, but insisted the government had nothing to do with this.
It was the first time the Pakistani government has admitted that Qadeer actually gave material to Iran, though they have said in the past that his criminal group sold technology and blueprints to several countries. "Dr. Abdul Qadeer gave some centrifuges to Iran," Sheikh Rashid told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "He helped Iran in his personal capacity, and the Pakistan government had nothing to do with it." Sheikh Rashid originally made the comments at a seminar on "Political Reconciliation — Need of The Hour" organized by Mir Khalilur Rehman Memorial Society here, in which he stuck by Pakistan's insistence that despite his crimes, Qadeer would never be handed over to a third country for prosecution. "I support the idea that the government should tell the people about these sensitive matters," Sheikh Rashid said in a speech at the seminar. "I am not a spokesman for a cowardly nation. Yes, we supplied Iran the centrifuge system. Yes, Dr. Qadeer gave Iran this technology. But we are not going to hand over Dr. Qadeer to any one. We will not." |